Christian Brueckner’s lawyer criticized prosecutors for labeling him Madeleine McCann’s “prime suspect,” saying it is impossible for him to get a fair trial as he returned to court this morning on unrelated rape charges.
Brueckner’s defense opened the proceedings with a furious attack on local prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who named him the “main suspect.”
Atilla Aykac stressed that, despite almost four years of investigation, no charges have been filed for Madeleine’s disappearance and her legal team has not yet received the case files.
He said: ‘Madeleine McCann’s disappearance is one of the biggest cases in the world, but our client has not been charged and we have not seen any files.
‘This is the fault of the prosecution and has created a global feeling of ridicule against our client.
Christian Brueckner’s lawyers criticized local prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who named him as the “main suspect” in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Atilla Aykac stressed that despite almost four years of investigation there are no charges for Madeleine’s disappearance
Brueckner will also face in court today his former friend Helge Busching, who tells prosecutors that the convicted pedophile was an “expert at picking locks.”
“This harms our client’s case and also the court’s ability to try him fairly.”
He then accused Wolters, who was in court, of “publicizing” the case against Brueckner, 47, despite not having filed or shared any records.
Also in court today, Brueckner will face a key witness who will tell prosecutors that the convicted pedophile was an “expert at picking locks.”
Breuckner, was sensationally named by German police four years ago as the man responsible for the “kidnapping and murder” of Madeleine.
However, despite the claim, he has not yet been charged and is currently on trial in his native Germany accused of unrelated sexual offenses that took place in the same area of ​​the Algarve where the three-year-old boy disappeared.
Former friend Helge Busching is the latest witness to testify at the Braunschweig court, where Brueckner arrived early Wednesday under a heavy police escort.
Last year, Busching told German media that Brueckner was an expert at picking locks and could have easily entered the apartment in Praia da Luz from which Madeleine was taken in May 2007.
He said Brueckner boasted about the burglary tools he used to “break into resorts, hotels and holiday homes to rob tourists,” Busching told Bild newspaper.
Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket, Brueckner was led into court in handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before being seated.
Busching, who is in German police witness protection, suggested Brueckner “entered through the door” of the McCanns’ holiday apartment, raising doubts about the official theory that Madeleine’s abductor sneaked in through a window.
German police were reportedly “electrified” by the discovery of the lockpick kit and are also investigating the possibility that Brueckner used car paint thinner to sedate the young woman.
He has denied any involvement in her kidnapping and is currently on trial accused of raping three women and sexually assaulting children between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve.
Busching, who claims to have met Brueckner a year before Madeleine disappeared, said he found the toolkit in the suspect’s home in the Algarve after he and a friend, Manfred Seyfreth, decided to ransack the place.
Brueckner’s former friend Helge Busching is the latest to testify against the convicted pedophile
Brueckner arrived early Wednesday at the Braunschweig court under a heavy police escort.
The petty criminal recalled seeing passports, cameras, suitcases and various items carried by tourists on the property, adding that he “also found a set of lock picks.”
Busching claims he saved the kit, which he says can be used to “pick any lock, including security locks,” and then gave it to police in Germany.
The kit is understood to be manufactured by Dino, which touts that its products “ensure easier and faster access to the most restrictive European keyways”. It reportedly includes 14 black stainless steel picks, each of which is designed for a specific type of door.
Portuguese police have always claimed that Madeleine’s kidnapper broke into the apartment through a window. They allege that he probably left with the child through a door or out a window.
But when asked how Brueckner got into the house, Busching stated: “Through the door.” Easily. It can open any door.
Busching also claimed that Brueckner had once confessed to kidnapping Madeleine and alleged that Brueckner told him, “She didn’t scream.”
Busching claims Brueckner made the confession at the illegal Dragon Festival held in the mountain town of Orgiva in southern Spain, a year after Madeleine disappeared.
He also alleged that Brueckner arrived at the festival in an American caravan that he lived in between early 2007 and 2008. Busching says the van is not the Tiffin Allegro van that police confiscated a few years ago.
He insists that the vehicle Brueckner drove to the festival, known for its techno music, alcohol and drugs, was a Winnebago and believes that if police could locate the van, they would find traces of Madeleine’s DNA.
Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket, Brueckner was led into court in handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before being seated.
Brueckner has denied any involvement in McCann’s kidnapping and is currently on trial accused of raping three women and sexually assaulting children between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve.
Busching says he knows Brueckner kidnapped Madeleine and adds that “another witness knows it too.”
He claims he advised the suspect to come clean, but says Brueckner “will never do that” because he is “too stubborn” and “takes for granted that the police can’t prove anything.”
Busching added that Brueckner’s lawyers pressured him to recant his accusations and he was forced into witness protection for the past four years.
Madeleine disappeared from a rented apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, during a family vacation.
His parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, led a high-profile campaign to obtain information about his disappearance.
Reports claim that phone records place Brueckner in the city on the night she disappeared and that her yellow and white Volkswagen Westfalia caravan was seen near the Algarve resort.
Last May, German forensic experts searched a reservoir 30 miles from Praia da Luz as part of their ongoing investigation. It is understood they took soil samples for analysis.
Brueckner and Busching, who is also German, previously lived in Portugal and are said to have been involved in petty theft.
Brueckner has claimed that the pair have not spoken since 2007, when they discussed a drug deal, and has denied Busching’s claims about their 2008 conversation, saying they were “not even worthy of comment.”
Busching also claims to have seen video tapes that allegedly showed Brueckner sexually abusing an elderly woman and a teenage girl in Portugal.
In 2019, Brueckner was convicted in a German court of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in her home in Portugal, near Praia da Luz, and is serving a seven-year sentence. Busching reportedly contacted British police about his former friend after he was arrested in Greece in 2017 over an alleged smuggling ring.
Madeleine’s disappearance was initially investigated by police in Portugal, with the support of officers from the United Kingdom. The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation in 2011, after the Portuguese operation was shelved.
But more than three years after linking Brueckner to Madeleine’s disappearance, he still has not been charged with her kidnapping because prosecutors do not have enough evidence.